Congress ends the month with a flurry of
rekindled coin legislation, as a new set of
bills reintroduces the Five-Star Generals
Commemorative Coin Act.

Companion House and Senate bills, H.R. 1177 and
S. 455, seek gold, silver and clad coins to
honor five-star Generals and the United States
Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC)
for its service in educating the nation’s
military leaders since its founding in 1881.

If the act sounds familiar, it is. Sen. Pat
Roberts of Kansas introduced a bill (S. 3456)
with the same name on Sept. 9, 2008. Many bills
fail to make it through a congressional session
for one reason or another. These are
automatically cleared from the books and must be
reintroduced or die.
Sen. Roberts, a former Marine, brought back the
legislation in S. 455 on Monday.

"I have visited the Command and General Staff
College many times over the past 28 years as a
Congressman and now a Senator," Senator Roberts
said in a press release Tuesday.

"This college on the banks of the Missouri River
transforms the men and women of our country and
those of numerous foreign nations around the
world into first class planners, organizers and
leaders who, with uncommon valor, fidelity and
love of country have led the sons and daughters
of their respective nations in the defense of
liberty around the world."

Fellow Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback is a cosponsor
of the legislation. Rep. Dennis Moore and [3]
Rep. Lynn Jenkins, also from Kansas, introduced
the House version, H.R. 1177, on Wednesday.

With passage, the United States Mint would
strike up to 100,000 $5 dollar gold coins,
500,000 $1 dollar silver coins, and 750,000
half-dollar copper-nickel clad coins for
issuance in 2013. Respective surcharges of $35,
$10, and $5 would be paid to the Command and
General Staff College Foundation, a not for
profit organization that is chartered to support
the CGSC.

Also reintroduced this week was legislation for
commemorative Girl Scouts silver dollars and
Mark Twain coins.

For any bill to become law, it must pass both
the House and the Senate, and get signed by the
President.